Archived: Rakelands

During our visit we looked at the care records for five people. Each person's care records had been updated and reviewed in recent months.

Staff we spoke with understood their responsibilities in safeguarding the people they provided care for. They had all received update training in this subject and felt confident in their ability to recognise and report any safeguarding issues.

The home had recruited a manger who took up their post in January 2013. This meant that the home had consistent leadership and staff received support. During our visit we spoke with seven staff. One member of staff told us: 'We are getting there with staff, we are working more as a team. We have more consistent agency staff who know people.'

At the time of our inspection the manager employed at Rakelands was not registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC). However, the previous manager had not deregistered with CQC, therefore their name still remains on any reports until such time that this information is received.

We followed up areas of non compliance identified at the last inspection in December 2012. This was in regards to care planning, the environment and quality assurance systems which had resulted in enforcement action being taken against the provider.

During this visit care plans were in the process of being completely reviewed. The new manager had also undertaken an initial risk assessment of all care plans, identified areas of need that required an immediate review and had introduced daily monitoring of care for all people. All staff were aware of the need to report any changes to people's care needs to the senior person on duty immediately to ensure care was appropriate.

At the last inspection the heating was not working and there were no contingency plans in place to ensure the safety and wellbeing of people living in the home. During this visit we found the heating to be in working order and new policies and procedures to be followed by all staff in the event of a break down.

Quality assurance systems that were found at the last visit to be ineffective or not in place had now been introduced to ensure people were safe and care was appropriate.

Not all people had been involved in the assessment and care planning process. For some people representatives had advocated on their behalf. People's privacy and dignity was not always protected and they were not always treated with respect by staff.

There were not suitable arrangements or procedures in place to protect people from the risk of abuse.

Staffing rotas did not confirm that the staffing levels were adequate for the needs of people living in the home.

The heating had not been working for 24 hours when we arrived at the home. People were fully dependent on staff to keep them warm and safe but were not adequately dressed. One person said: 'I was cold last night."

The quality assurance systems in place were not effective as the provider had not taken action to address actions and risks identified and ensure people were safe and care was appropriate.

In this report the name of a registered manager appears who was not in post and not managing the regulatory activities at this location at the time of the inspection. Their name appears because they were still a Registered Manager on our register at the time of this inspection. We have advised the provider of the action they need to take.